Balistreri Vineyards — Attraction in Four Corners States

We did extensive google searches and combed through wedding websites looking for our venue. We consider ourselves lucky we stumbled upon Balistreri Vineyards. Jessica was our event coordinator and from the first time we spoke with her we knew Balistreri would be our venue. She was kind, accommodating, and very down to earth. Throughout our visits to the venue including the day of the ceremony we met several members of the staff as well as members of the family who own Balistreri. All were incredibly kind and very welcoming. As is the case for almost every couple, budget was a concern for our wedding. Balistreri allows you to bring in food from an outside caterer but we elected to have Balistreri cater the food. Jessica and her staff asked what our budget was and put together a menu based on our budget, rather than other places who required we make our budget fit their menus and pricing. We feel like we got a steal on our menu. Not only did they come in slightly under the budget we provided but the food was amazing. We had many of our guests talking for weeks after the event about how delicious the food was and how many of the passed appetizers they ate! As a winery, Balistreri obviously makes their own wine, and it is high quality. We strongly recommend the cherry wine, we ended up serving it during our reception and the guests loved it. In addition to their wine, Balistreri allows you to bring in your own outside alcohol, which was a huge cost saver. True to Colorado form, it was snowing the day before our April wedding so Jessica discussed with us at length alternate setup plans. She allowed us to make a game day decision for an indoor vs outdoor option and planned it out in such detail that we did not worry. The weather ended up being beautiful and we were able to hold the ceremony outdoors but either location would have been just what we wanted! Our only minor hiccup was that the venue is a working winery and therefore has patrons there during the day prior to the start of the event, which made setting up a few of our tables a little tricky. Despite this, Jessica assured us the other patrons would be gone, tables ready by the start of the ceremony. Sure enough, she made it happen so that everything was set up just how we wanted by ceremony go time without exception. Everything came together and looked beautiful, just the way we had envisioned it. Looking back, we cannot imagine hosting our wedding at any other venue. From the beautiful grounds, to the delicious wine, to the accommodating staff, Balistreri was a big part of making our big day the...

The first time I visited this winery last fall, I distinctly remember opening my car door to be treated to the aromas of the nearby water treatment plant and other heavy industry. The early afternoon (because the weekday hours make little to no sense) winds carrying those incredible scents also filled my sinuses and mouth with dust from the very poorly maintained driveway and parking lot.

The inside of the winery looked great but, like most things here, it was all presentation with zero substance. More on that later.

I participated in a wine tasting. The ability to taste their entire list of offerings for $20 is generous to the point of being fiscally irresponsible. Moreover, after the sensory destroying experience exiting my car, I couldn’t taste a thing after the third or fourth wine. It wasn’t about picking out nuance at that point. Not that I think there was much nuance to experience. Just about every one of their “natural” wines was cloyingly sweet. I was just drinking alcoholic grape juice for cheap. And I paid for that the next day. The hangover was comparable to day drinking hard lemonade in the middle of summer.

After the wine tasting, I had the misfortune of meeting a certain member of the family. This person had a smile that was as genuine as a Craigslist designer handbag. The aura of “gracious host” that they were attempting to give off made my skin crawl and my stomach churn (though that could’ve been the wine). Much like the rest of the winery, the presentation was barely skin deep. Zero authenticity. No warmth. It was almost as if I should just be grateful for being allowed the privilege of being in a place I was unworthy of and in the presence of a person who thought themselves entirely superior to me.

The lunch I had was decent. It was during a transition period between chefs, so some of the wanting quality could be chalked up to that. But I don’t think even the highest quality meal could get the taste of dust, sugary wine, and entitlement out of my mouth.

I have been in the food and drink service industry for years. I understand the struggles better than most. Ownership makes or breaks any business especially in a space as competitive as this. And the family in charge of this restaurant and winery doesn’t deserve the patronage they receive. I can’t imagine having to work for them much less giving them another cent of my hard earned cash. Give this place...

We had our wedding at Balistreri on October 26th, and it could not have been a more perfect day thanks to the venue and the incredible staff. Mattie and Katy made the planning process a breeze, helped us pick our food out, took our wishes and feedback into account, and truly just gave us everything we could have wanted out of this day. They're incredibly flexible to your vision but will provide input and thoughts when needed, ensuring that everything is set up for success.

The food and the wine is INCREDIBLE. We got so many compliments all night and after the fact about the dishes (lamb, salmon, and risotto), the appetizers, the desserts, the late night snack, and especially the cabernet. They're also incredibly accommodating to allergies, working with us for our friends and family with dietary restrictions to make sure everyone is aware of ingredients. We attended a tasting event to try a variety of food options, and then had a private tasting to finalize our menu, where Mattie and the chefs sat down with us and helped us tailor our menu to our exact wishes.

The set-up, bartending, and wait stuff were all top notch - making our day run incredibly smoothly. The inclusion of chairs, linens, flatware, etc. and catering in house was a huge draw for us in terms of ease of planning. They have some highly recommended vendors for entertainment and alcohol delivery, who are not mandatory to use, but who worked seamlessly with the venue to create an easy and low stress day.

Lastly, the venue is absolutely beautiful. It is set up so naturally perfectly that we barely felt the need for additional decor. The garage doors being open between the ceremony and reception spaces allowed for such a seamless flow and natural feeling cocktail hour. Our event of 120 guests fit the space wonderfully. We got married right at sunset, late in the year, and were gifted with the most gorgeous weather.

I truly cannot rave enough about how wonderful it was to host at Balistreri. We had the most magical day and could not have done it without this wonderful venue. The amount of personal touches and care they put into hosting your event shows why it is such a popular and well...